. It will take off from Spaceport America, around 45 miles north of Las Cruces in New Mexico, US. Thousands are expected to tune in to watch the launch along with the hundreds who travel to see it in person. Virgin Galactic will be livestreaming the launch on the company's website and YouTube channel. The stream can be bookmarked on YouTube so followers are notified with any updates. The total flight time will be around 90 minutes.){kind=link}
Tens of thousands are expected to tune in to watch the much anticipated take off of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic first flight with tourists. It will launch from from Spaceport America, around 45 miles north of Las Cruces in New Mexico, US
In a few short hours, the first space tourist flight from Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic will launch, taking three members of the public into orbit.
The launch, dubbed Galactic 02, will take the crew of six into space aboard the VSS Unity spaceplane when it blasts off from New Mexico on Thursday.
Along with the three operators, there will be an 80-year-old with Parkinson’s and a mum and daughter pair.
When Branson’s firm first put tickets on sale over a decade ago, hundreds were sold, some for as much as $450,000. Today’s flight will mark the first step towards realising those dreams.